OTTAWA — Despite the fact he cannot be sent down for the remainder of the season, there are few — if any — expectations for forward Ryan Haggerty, as he participated in his first practice on Monday since signing with the Rangers as a free agent after his junior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“I know it’s a tough situation to come in here,” said Haggerty, 21, who had 25 goals and 43 points for RPI. “I know we’re in a big playoff push here, I understand that and I just want to kind of stay out of the way, and also make an impact, try and get guys better and get myself better, learn as much as I can as quick as I can.”

Growing up in Stamford, Conn., Haggerty was a Rangers fan. He said that was part of his decision to sign with the Blueshirts, as was the fact their locker room has many players that came via college, rather than through the ranks of junior hockey.

Haggerty also is acutely aware of the fact he was a free agent because all 30 teams passed on him in draft after draft, and now he enters the league with a slight chip on the shoulder of his 6-foot, 200-pound frame.

“All 30 teams put their shoulder to me, but it happens,” he said. “We have a guy in the locker room, [Martin] St. Louis, who has played over 1,000 games as a free agent from Vermont. It can be done. It does have a little motivation in me.”

Coach Alain Vigneault had never seen Haggerty play before Monday’s practice, and as of now, has little idea how he might use him. When asked if he wished Haggerty could be sent down to AHL Hartford to play some more — and to not be another extra body at every practice — Vigneault was non-declarative.

“He just played a full year,” Vigneault said. “Going to Hartford to get ice time would have been good. Being here with us and with [condition coach Reg Grant] brings some other benefits.”

Defenseman Anton Stralman got the day off for maintenance after Vigneault said he blocked a shot in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Sharks.

In his place on the second defensive pair to the right of Marc Staal was Raphael Diaz, obtained in a trade with the Canucks on March 5 and yet to make his Rangers’ debut.

“Be ready, that’s the most important thing,” Diaz said. “Stay positive and work hard, that’s all what I can do. That’s what I’m doing.”

The Rangers signed free-agent defenseman Ryan Graves, 18, who has five goals and 17 assists for 22 points, along with 68 penalty minutes and a plus-20 rating in 65 games with the Charlottetown Islanders and Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) this season.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was originally selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (110th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.